Effects of flickering light on the attraction of nocturnal insects

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that the phototatic response of nocturnal insects is influenced by the flickering of light sources by comparing the numbers of insects captured in traps illuminated with flickering and non-flickering light. Four flicker profiles produced by a square pulse wave with different combinations of frequency and duty cycle were investigated. Overall, fewer insects were captured in traps illuminated with a flickering light source, independent of the flicker setting used. Furthermore, the difference observed was statistically significant for specific combinations of flickering conditions and insect orders, thus suggesting that flickering reduces the number of nocturnal insects attracted to light sources.